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  She lifted one eyebrow.

  “I don’t trust him. I don’t trust his judgment. I think he’s arrogant and he doesn’t listen.”

  “None of those are firing offenses,” Sarah said.

  “Fair enough. I think he lacks integrity. Kearney’s statement today is exhibit A.” He sighed heavily. “Is it wrong of me to admit that I was hoping the boss wouldn’t care and just let me get rid of him in the churn following the changes of command?”

  Sarah doodled on the edge of her green notebook. “No. But generally, I tended to avoid taking my boss problems without having solutions to recommend.”

  He shifted, resting one ankle on the opposite knee. “I know in my bones that Smith is bad news.” Sean shook his head. “I wasn’t raised to stand by and watch a power-hungry bully ruin those around him. That’s what Smith is. I know it. Every NCO in this company knows it. I suspect the sergeant major knows it. But the boss? The boss either can’t or won’t see it because of Smith’s uncle at division headquarters.”

  “You think his reputation makes him untouchable?”

  Sean shook his head slowly. “Not Smith’s. His uncle’s reputation makes Smith untouchable. Some officers get their panties in a knot when someone tells them one of their favorites or their family member is a shithead.”

  A smile stole across Sarah’s mouth. Unexpected and warm. “I can see where that might be a little awkward.”

  She paused. “You seem awfully focused on Smith and not Kearney. Why?”

  He looked down where his hand rested on one bent knee. “I’ve served with Kearney before.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “I trust him. He’s going through a really rough time right now, but I trust him to have my back any day of the week.”

  Sarah said nothing. “What’s the deal with his wife?”

  “Those two just need to get a damn divorce. They’re poison to each other.” His voice was flat and laced with judgment.

  “I haven’t met her, but she seems to be at the heart of this. It doesn’t jive that Kearney wouldn’t instigate the fight with Smith.” She leaned forward, looking at the statements in front of her. None of this made any damn sense. “The guy slept with his wife, and Kearney’s not interested in fighting? That doesn’t match up with, oh, I don’t know, the entire history of masculinity.”

  Sean studied her quietly for a moment. Long enough that she had to resist the urge to squirm beneath the intensity of his gaze. He shrugged again. “She’s trading up from a fire team leader. Happens all the time and if he’s letting her go, then better for him.”

  “That’s pretty cynical,” she said.

  Sean leaned back in his chair. “Nothing surprises me anymore.”

  Sarah swallowed and made an idle mark on the edge of her notepad. “I’ll write up my findings and recommendation then and get them turned in to the commander.”

  “What are you going to recommend?”

  She looked up at the quiet intensity in that single question. “That Smith receive a letter of reprimand for adultery, and Kearney be reprimanded for fighting. I mean, sure, adultery is a court-martialable offense, but there’s nothing here worth taking to court-martial, honestly.”

  “Well,” Sean said after a moment, “maybe the boss will finally deal with Smith. Or at least make him someone else’s problem.”

  There was too much emotion in his response for her to ignore. She shifted, folding her arms over her chest, mirroring his. “There’s more to your relationship with Kearney than that you two just served together, isn’t there?”

  He looked at her then, his expression inscrutable. “I’d rather not go into that, if it’s all the same to you.” Thick, heavy words, weighted down with memories and time.

  She wanted to know. Wanted to push him on why he was protecting Kearney so much. She understood that kind of loyalty. She’d just never expected it from Sean.

  His loyalty to her hadn’t lasted. His loyalty had been to what he wanted her to be, not to who she was.

  So what was it about Kearney that had the man bending over backward to protect this NCO?

  She was curious now. Curious about the man he’d become.

  And she didn’t have time for that kind of curiosity. Because that kind of curiosity didn’t just kill the cat.

  It destroyed her.

  Seven

  Sean looked at the closed door of his office and winced as he heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor. Morgan sighed heavily.

  “This is bullshit, sir!” Kearney’s voice was muffled outside of Sean’s office door.

  Sean felt Morgan’s frustration as he first looked to the ceiling for patience then shouted at the closed door: “Sarn’t Kearney, one more tantrum out of you and I’m going to have you in the dying cockroach for the rest of the day.”

  It would have normally been funny imagining Kearney flat on his back with his arms and legs extended straight up in the air except that Sean’s sense of humor was apparently AWOL and had been for some time. “That’s cruel.”

  “Cruel is what I’m going to do to him if he doesn’t quit his bitching and moaning.” Morgan ran his hand over the three hairs on the top of his head. “So the investigating officer recommended letters of reprimand for both of them? You should just let them take it out on each other on the combatives mat. Get whatever it is between them out of their system.”

  “If I thought for one second that they wouldn’t try to kill each other, I would.” Had it not been an enlisted man challenging an officer, Sean might have also considered letting them have a go at it.

  Morgan said nothing for a moment. “So which one of them are you going to recommend be moved from the company? I assume you want to keep the XO?”

  Sean mulled that over for a minute, considering his response. “Hell no. Just because I’m an officer doesn’t mean I’m in the officer protection agency. Smith needs to go. I can deal with Kearney.”

  Morgan shook his head. “Under normal circumstances, I’d agree with you, but this has been going on a little too long. Kearney’s gotten in a lot of trouble, sir. The soldiers are starting to question why he’s still wearing his stripes.”

  “I would hope that those same sergeants would be looking for some compassion and understanding if they ever go through what Kearney’s gone through.” Sean kicked his feet up on his desk.

  “Agreed. But you’re going to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you wish you had, right?”

  “I hate that expression,” Sean said mildly.

  “Got it, sir, but you can’t have the NCOs questioning your judgment or thinking you’re playing favorites.”

  There was a knock on the office door. “Excuse me, sir?” The ops clerk Sergeant Sloane stuck his head in the door. “There’s a spouse here to see you, sir. Says she won’t leave until you talk to her.”

  Sean sighed and bit back a smart-ass remark. He was not in the mood for some hysterical spouse and he damn sure didn’t feel like dealing with demands today. Ninety-nine percent of his soldiers’ spouses were awesome but it only took one or two to remind him why he dreaded those phone calls. But part of his duty description was dealing with the spouses and the implied task attached “politely” to that requirement.

  He stepped into the ops and saw one very unwelcome spouse standing there.

  Face of an angel. Heart of a rabid pit viper. He didn’t even know if vipers could get rabies, but if they could, he was sure this woman would be one of them.

  Kitty Kearney.

  The one spouse Sean wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

  Sean deliberately ignored the I told you so look Morgan shot in his direction.

  “Who do I need to talk to about a restraining order against my husband?”

  * * *

  Sarah stood at parade rest in front of Major Wilson’s desk for the second time that week. At least she’d just gotten her recommendations back from Major McLean, the brigade lawyer. Too bad he was getting out of the Army. He was damn good at his
job.

  “You’re recommending letters of reprimand?” Wilson sounded incredulous.

  “Ma’am, that’s the only punishment that passes legal review at this point. There’s no evidence of the adultery, only one man’s word against another. I also recommend at least one of them be moved to another company.”

  Wilson studied the paper then looked up at her again. “I’m surprised at these findings, Sarah.”

  “Ma’am?”

  “The recommendation is weak.”

  Sarah bristled. “The recommendation is legally sufficient, ma’am.”

  Wilson shook her head. “You should reconsider your recommendations. NCOs cannot be allowed to fight with officers.”

  “And maybe officers shouldn’t be sleeping with their NCOs’ wives, ma’am.” Damn it, where was her mute button when she needed it?

  “Watch your tone, captain.” Wilson looked up at her, her expression completely unamused. Then she shifted and pulled out another sheet of paper, one Sarah didn’t have to read to recognize. “Talk to me about your profile.”

  “There’s not much to say beyond what’s on the paper, ma’am.” Sarah ground her teeth. She’d figured this was coming sooner or later. Being on profile was just about the worst sin a soldier could commit. For an officer—well, she might as well drop her release paperwork right then and there.

  The only thing in her entire life that Sarah had been good at was being a soldier. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than a cranky major to make her give up the career she loved.

  Except that Sarah had problems keeping her mouth shut. Maybe keeping her answers to a minimum would increase Sarah’s odds of keeping her foot from sliding all the way down her throat.

  “What are you on profile for, captain?”

  “Shrapnel and burn recovery, ma’am.”

  Wilson looked up at her over the edge of her glasses. “Explain?”

  “Fire during a fueling operation. I was hurt and removed from command while I recovered.”

  “That’s not the story I’m tracking, Captain Anders.” There was no emotion in Wilson’s voice but damn if she didn’t somehow make Sarah feel two inches tall.

  As if she’d gotten hurt on purpose.

  Sarah swallowed and said nothing.

  “You were removed for being reckless, ignoring your brigade commander’s guidance, and failing to follow standard operating procedures.”

  Sarah breathed in through her nose like her therapist had taught her. It wasn’t helping.

  “Is that true?”

  She counted to five before she answered. “Ma’am, the procedures I violated amounted to letting my soldiers wear eye protection that wasn’t authorized but exceeded Army safety specs. I also required they actually test fire all of their weapons before leaving the base, as opposed to just the front and rear vehicles. And yes, ma’am, I failed to complete mandatory training as required.”

  “And you got yourself blown up.”

  “In a fire that was due to deliberate sabotage by the contractor, ma’am.” It wasn’t like she was out fucking off down at the market. “That’s in the official report, too, ma’am. In case you missed it.”

  “I don’t appreciate your sarcasm, Captain Anders,” Wilson said mildly. “You’re weak, mentally and physically. How much longer before you can be medically ready?”

  And you have the personality of a rabid squirrel. Trying to act tough and fierce but really just a rodent foaming at the mouth.

  “Ma’am, I’m prepared to take a PT test tomorrow if need be,” Sarah said more sharply than she intended.

  “Good. I’ll see you at the railhead at 0500 for your record APFT.”

  Silence dragged on. Sarah watched her, trying to figure out if she was dismissed or not.

  “You’re dismissed, Captain.”

  Sarah executed an about-face before her head exploded or her mouth engaged before her brain could stop it.

  Perfect. Now she just had to figure out what to do with Anna at four-thirty in the morning. And hope that her leg was strong enough to cash the check her mouth had just written.

  Maybe she could ask Jamie Sorren to babysit. She’d been holding off on asking Jamie because her dad was still recovering from a mild heart attack. Maybe Claire. Shit. She retreated to the relative safety of her desk and picked up the phone, hoping that she could pull a childcare hat trick out of her ass.

  * * *

  “I want him kept away from the house. He threatened to kill me.” Kitty Kearney sat in front of Sean’s desk, her eyes wide and innocent. Beside her stood Kearney’s platoon leader LT Ricks and his platoon sergeant, SFC Madeira.

  Kearney himself, however, was not allowed in the office due to the fact that he’d completely lost his shit the minute his wife had demanded to speak with Sean.

  Kitty wore a look of well-practiced terror. And it was complete and total bullshit. Sean felt slightly stabby. He hated people like this – people who abused the system and took resources from people who really needed it.

  There was practically a battle drill for this type of thing, and Kitty Kearney knew all the rules. She knew exactly how to ruin her husband’s week and potentially his career.

  Sean looked at LT Ricks and his platoon sergeant. “LT, you and Sarn’t Madeira will escort Sarn’t Kearney to his residence to ensure he gets any necessary medication, clothing, and uniforms he needs to function. He will not leave your sight at any point in time. Then, you’re to escort him to the corps legal office and make sure he starts an allotment so that Mrs. Kearney has funds.” Finally Sean looked down at the future ex-Mrs. Kearney. “Ma’am, I’ll order him restricted to the barracks for the next seven days. After that I’ll have to reassess the situation. He’ll be required to sign in to the CQ every hour. If he contacts you in any way, either directly, through a friend, or through any type of social media, you need to let either LT Ricks or Sarn’t Madeira know immediately.”

  “Can’t I just call you?” she asked meekly. Her bottom lip quivered for added effect.

  Sean shook his head. The only effect her pathetic look had was to piss him off further. He lashed it back, keeping his words careful and professional. “Ma’am, this is why I have platoon-level leadership.”

  “Can LT Smith escort me? I trust him.” There was something beneath the surface of her words that set Sean’s teeth on edge and made his blood turn cold in his veins. The woman was heartless.

  Behind her, Morgan choked and coughed into his hand. “Not only no but hell no, ma’am,” Morgan said.

  Sean shot him a warning look, and Morgan went silent. “Considering I’ve got sworn statements saying that you and Lieutenant Smith engaged in an extramarital affair, I’m thinking that’s not a good idea. He’s receiving a no-contact order for you as well.”

  A lone tear trickled down her cheek. She sniffed quietly. “I don’t mean to make trouble, Captain Nichols. I’m just so afraid.”

  Sean let her marinate in her words for a moment, unable to find a semblance of credulity anywhere inside him for her bullshit. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up saying something that would have his ass in a sling with the boss. One did not piss off the soldiers’ spouses unless one wanted one’s ass to spend quality time with the battalion commander’s boot. “Have you spoken with a counselor, Mrs. Kearney? Maybe you could stop by and talk with the battalion chaplain?”

  Sean was reasonably certain Chaplain Joas was going to kill him for this one.

  She swiped beneath her eyes and offered a watery smile. “I’ll do that. Thank you so much.”

  “LT Ricks, Sarn’t Madeira, please let me know when everything is accomplished.”

  “Roger, sir,” Ricks said.

  They escorted Mrs. Kearney from the office. The door didn’t even close before Morgan let out a stream of quite possibly the greatest creative profanity Sean had ever heard.

  “She’s been threatening Kearney with doing exactly what she did today,” Morgan said when he finally stopped swearing.


  Sean held up his hands. “Write it in a memorandum, Top. Word for word or as close as you can get to exactly what she said to you.” He leaned forward and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Why the hell don’t those two get divorced?”

  “Because it’s expensive,” Morgan said. “You ever try getting divorced? Three grand minimum and that’s if no one contests it.”

  Sean left his hand over his mouth. “That explains a lot. You know, part of me was hoping that time might have fixed them.”

  “You’ve been around long enough to know better.”

  “Why can’t you be wrong once in a while?”

  “It’s my superpower,” Morgan said wryly.

  “Yeah, well, get a marriage counseling superpower,” Sean said. “That seems to be the biggest problem we’re facing right now.”

  “War is so much simpler than garrison life.” Morgan reached for the door handle.

  “On that, brother, we agree.”

  Eight

  Sean’s phone vibrated in his pocket. At almost seventeen hundred, it was never a good thing when the phone rang. Hell, it was never good news when his phone rang, no matter what time of day. “Captain Nichols.”

  “Sir?” Morgan’s voice grated on the other end of the line.

  “I don’t suppose this is you inviting me out to a day of fishing on Stillhouse Hollow?”

  “Don’t you know me better than that by now?” Morgan snorted. “Kearney’s broken restriction. He’s at his house.”

  “Ah hell.” Sean sighed. “What’s the rest of the story?”

  “The MPs are on the way. Apparently, he’s on the front porch screaming at his wife to open the door.”

  “What’s the address again?” Sean didn’t bother to hide the fatigue in his voice.

  “Comanche II, Karankawa Circle. Just follow the MPs. I’ll meet you there.”

  Sean was already in his truck, heading toward the installation. “Get there first. We need to keep the MPs from taking him in, damn it. Kearney cannot get arrested again.”